4 syllables: em, u, la, tion. Stress on la.
em-yuh-LAY-shuhn
/ˌɛmjəˈleɪʃən/
emulation is pronounced em-yuh-LAY-shuhn (/ˌɛmjəˈleɪʃən/). It has four syllables (em-u-la-tion), with the stress on "la". Emulation refers to the act of imitating or reproducing someone else’s behavior, appearance, or methods, often with the aim of matching or surpassing the original. It connotes both homage and replication, sometimes driven by admiration or strategic competition. In technology, it can describe systems designed to imitate another device or environment. The term emphasizes fidelity of imitation and aspirational replication rather than novelty.
Emulation refers to the act of imitating or reproducing someone else’s behavior, appearance, or methods, often with the aim of matching or surpassing the original. It connotes both homage and replication, sometimes driven by admiration or strategic competition. In technology, it can describe systems designed to imitate another device or environment. The term emphasizes fidelity of imitation and aspirational replication rather than novelty.
- You: When you speak, you might compress emulation into a two-syllable word. Break it into four: EM-u-LA-tion. Practice the ɪ or e transitions to avoid running letters together. - Focus on the /ju/ glide after the /m/. Many learners mispronounce it as /juː/ or /uː/. Practice with a light /j/ to bridge /m/ into /leɪ/. - The final -tion should be /ʃən/, not /tʃən/ or /ən/. Ensure the tongue purses slightly for /ʃ/ and release into a soft schwa.
"Her emulation of the artist's technique demonstrated a deep study of brushwork and color balance."
"The startup pursued emulation of a leading platform, aiming to capture its user experience while integrating novel features."
"Students often engage in emulation during training sessions, copying expert demonstrations to accelerate skill acquisition."
Say it as em-u-LA-tion with primary stress on the third syllable. IPA: US ˌɛm.juˈleɪ.ʃən; UK ˌɛm.jʊˈleɪ.ʃən; AU ˌɛm.jʊˈleɪ.ʃən. Note the syllable break: em-ju- LA -tion. The middle approximant is a short 'y' sound after the first syllable, and the final 'tion' sounds as -ʃən in most dialects. Mouth positions: start with /ˈɛm/ (open front vowel), glide to /j/ for the 'ju' portion, then /ˈleɪ/ with an open-mid onset and a long a, ending with /ʃən/.
Common errors: 1) Over-stressing the first syllable and under-emphasizing -la-tion; 2) Mispronouncing the /ju/ as a pure /uː/ or as /dju/ instead of the brief /j/ glide; 3) Saying -tion as /tɪən/ instead of /ʃən/. Correction: keep primary stress on -LA-tion, produce a light /j/ glide after /m/ to form /mj/, say /leɪ/ with long A, and finalize with the soft /ʃən/ cluster. Practicing with slow, precise phoneme isolation helps transition to natural speed.
All vary mainly in vowel quality and final consonant: US and AU use /ˌɛm.juˈleɪ.ʃən/ with a clearer /ju/ glide, while UK often renders the /ju/ closer to /jʊ/ in some speakers and maintains a crisp /ʃən/ ending. Rhoticity doesn't change the word itself; however, non-rhotic accents may realize r-coloring less in the preceding syllables, slightly altering preceding vowel length. The main difference is the /ju/ diphthong and the potential length of the /æ/ or /e/ sequences preceding it.
The difficulty centers on the three-part sequence em-u-LA-tion, especially the smooth /ju/ glide after /m/ and the unstressed but distinct /ˈleɪ/ with a long vowel leading into the /ʃən/ ending. Learners often sequence the consonants too tightly, producing /mjLeɪ/ or misplacing the /ʃ/ into /t/ or /s/. Also, the stress pattern requires shifting the emphasis to the third syllable, which can feel unnatural if you’re not used to tri-syllabic words with a later-stressed suffix.
The unique feature is the late primary stress on the -LA-tion segment and the subtle /j/ glide from the /m/ into /ju/. You’ll hear a soft onset for the /j/ and a clear diphthong in /leɪ/. There is no silent letter in this word; each syllable is pronounced with a distinct, recoverable vowel sound, and the -tion ending is typically /ʃən/, not /tʃən/ in standard pronunciation.
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- US: rhotic simplifications don’t affect emulation; keep /ɹ/ absent from this word. Emphasize the /j/ glide and the /ʃən/ ending. - UK: more clipped /ju/ to /jʊ/ in some speakers, but still keep the /ʃən/ ending. - AU: similar to US; keep the diphthong /eɪ/ in /leɪ/. Vowel merging across dialects is mild, but the /j/ glide may be more relaxed in some Australian speech.
Emulation comes from Latin emulatio, from emulare ‘to strive to equal or imitate,’ which itself derives from the prefix ex- ‘out’ plus mulus ‘counterpart, rival’ (in some forms) and assimilates with emul- in the sense of striving against, rivaling. The word entered English via Old French emulation in the 14th–15th centuries, initially with moral and aspirational connotations of rivalry: to imitate in order to rival someone else’s excellence. Over time, the sense broadened to include mechanical or procedural imitation (as in technology or copying techniques), often implying a careful, deliberate replication rather than mere copying. The pronunciation settled into three primary stress patterns across dialects, with the second syllable bearing the principal stress in standard English: em-u-LA-tion. The semantic field broadened to include both positive contexts (admired imitation) and neutral technical uses (emulation of devices), with the rhyme and form stabilizing as the noun emulation. First known uses in English literature and legal documents reflect emulatio as imitation, with the modern sense of performance parity and deliberate replication appearing by the late 18th to 19th centuries and increasingly in technical discourse in the 20th century with computing and behavioral studies.
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Words that rhyme with "emulation"
-ion sounds
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